INTRODUCTION Chronic mitral regurgitation is often accompanied by left atrial and ventricular remodeling and elevated natriuretic peptide levels. Our aim was to examine the relation between severe preoperative left atrial enlargement and changes in hemodynamics and natriuretic peptide levels after mitral valve surgery. METHODS A prospective study was conducted including 40 consecutive patient...

OBJECTIVE To examine the relation between haemodynamics and atrial natriuretic peptide concentration during short term angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition. DESIGN Patients were randomly allocated to receive placebo or one of three doses of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril. SETTING Cardiac units of two tertiary referral hospitals. SUBJECTS 38 Patients with stable c...

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation is common in advanced heart failure, but its prognostic significance is controversial. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated the relation of atrial rhythm to overall survival and sudden death in 390 consecutive advanced heart failure patients. Etiology of heart failure was coronary artery disease in 177 patients (45%) and nonischemic cardiomyopathy or valvular heart ...

In this issue of the European Respiratory Journal, FOX et al. [1] present data that suggest most pulmonary hypertension (PH) in systemic sclerosis is post-capillary and that many patients are receiving pulmonary vasodilator therapy inappropriately. Of 53 patients identified as having PH, nearly half (24) had elevated wedge pressures, a further five had elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pr...

Serial hemodynamic alterations were investigated in seven elderly patients with heat stroke. Their mean age was 72 +/- 6 years. The circulatory response to heat stroke was either hyperdynamic of hypodynamic. Two patients had increased cardiac index (4.3 and 4.4 L/min/m2), increased right atrial pressure (10 and 12 mm Hg), normal pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (10 and 12 mm Hg), and decrease...

BACKGROUND Normal healthy aging results in changes in Doppler indexes of diastolic function. One widely accepted explanation for these alterations that is based on animal data is an age-associated impairment of myocardial relaxation resulting from abnormal myocyte calcium handling. However, an alternative theory based on altered left atrial compliance with aging has been proposed in which early...

et al. reported that their patient had elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure at the time of catheterization. In addition, Sitges et al8 reported a case of pulmonary hemorrhage following abciximab use who had radiographic evidence of pulmonary congestion before administration. This probable correlation was also supported by Khanlou et al,9 who reported 6 patients with pulmonary hemorrhage ...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate whether a new variable of mitral inflow, A wave deceleration time, identifies patients with elevated left ventricular filling pressures. BACKGROUND In patients with an elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, the increase in left ventricular pressure after atrial contraction rapidly exceeds left atrial pressure, resulting in abrupt ...